letting
them into the secret of her conference with June; and she found herself
compelled to act cautiously and with a forethought to which she was
unaccustomed, more especially in a matter of so much moment.

The soldier's wife was told to transport the necessaries into the
blockhouse, and admonished not to be far from it at any time during the
day. Mabel did not explain her reasons. She merely stated that she had
detected some signs in walking about the island, which induced her to
apprehend that the enemy had more knowledge of its position than had
been previously believed, and that they two at least, would do well
to be in readiness to seek a refuge at the shortest notice. It was
not difficult to arouse the apprehension of this person, who, though a
stout-hearted Scotchwoman, was ready enough to listen to anything that
confirmed her dread of Indian cruelties. As soon as Mabel believed that
her companion was sufficiently frightened to make her wary, she threw
out some hints touching the inexpediency of letting the soldiers know
the extent of their own fears. This was done with a view to prevent
discussions and inquiries that might embarrass our heroine: she
determining to render her uncle, the Corporal, and his men more
cautious, by adopting a different course. Unfortunately, the British
army could not have furnished a worse person for the particular
duty that he was now required to discharge than Corporal M'Nab, the
individual who had been left in command during the absence of Sergeant
Dunham. On the one hand, he was resolute, prompt, familiar with all
the details of a soldier's life, and used to war; on the other, he was
supercilious as regards the provincials, opinionated on every subject
connected with the narrow limits of his professional practice, much
disposed to fancy the British empire the centre of all that is excellent
in the world, and Scotland the focus of, at least, all moral excellence
in that empire. In short, he was an epitome, though on a scale suited to
his rank, of those very qualities which were so peculiar to the servants
of the Crown that were sent into the colonies, as these servants
estimated themselves in comparison with the natives of the country; or,
in other words, he considered the American as an animal inferior to
the parent stock, and viewed all his notions of military service, in
particular, as undigested and absurd. A more impracticable subject,
therefore, could not well have offere